Friction-clutch.



u. 633,925. n Patented'sept. ze, |899.

A.swAsEY a.' w. Il. ALLEN. f'mc'rlol CLUTCH.

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UNITEDi STATES,

AMnRosEsWAsEY AND WALTER M. ALLEN, on CLEVELAND, cino,

AssIeNoEs To WARNER af svvAsEY, orv SAME PLACE.

SPEGIFICATIGN formingpereof Letters Patent No. ceases, dated september 2e, i899.

Application tiled May 16, 1899. Serial No. 717,034. (No model.) Y

States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Friction-Clutches, of which the following is a full, clear, Vand exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

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O urinvention relates to the class of frictionclutchesvhich employ an'expandin g ring.

The invention, as shown, is designed with special reference to its use as a means for connecting and disconnecting a counter shaft and a constantly-driven pulley loosely mounted thereon, but the'invention is adapted for substantially allrof the specific uses for which any friction-clutch is adapted. n

The principal objects of the invention are simplicity and cheapness in the construction, certainty in operation, and the avoidanceof end thrustin setting the clutch.

The invention consists in the construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and 'pointedfont definitely in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view, principally in section, of the clutch mechanism yembodying our invention. leftvend view of the carrier and the mechanism which it carries. Fig. 3 is a view, partly in section, of parts of the expanding ring, the operating-Wedge, the carrier, and the lever Whichoperates the wedge. Fig. 4 is a de-y tached end view of the expanding ring. Fig. 5 is an end view of the carrier, and Fig. G an edge view of the carrier and the parts which it carries.

Referring to the parts by letters, A representsthe shaft, and B a pulley which is independently rotatable and is mounted' in the same axialV line with the shaft. It isv preferably loosely mounted upon the shaft. The

shaft and the pulley are the two relativelyrotatable parts which the clutch mechanism constituting our invention is designed to connect and disconnect. The pulley has an anl nulariiange b, which is concentric with the axis of the shaft, and the expanding ring C lies within and is adapted to be expanded into contact with the inner periphery of this iiange.

Fig. 2is al PATENT Orrin/E.,

l The ring C is supported by the carrier D, lwhich is made fast 'to the shaft A, This carrier is in the forni of-a disk having a hub d,

The expanding ring C isa split ring. .In the meeting edgeV of this ring are the tapered grooves c @which together make a wedgeshaped recess, this recess being substantially at right angles to the radial'line Vpassing be'- tween the meetingA edges of the ring. In this 1' recess a wedge-faced block F isplaced.

' The yWedge or block F maybe forced forward-that is to say, toward the pulley whereby the meeting edges of the ring are forced apart and the ring expanded into contact with the flange .b by a bell-crank lever E, which is pivoted to the carrier. One arm e of this lever engages with the cone G,which loosely embraces andis adapted to be moved along that shaftA by a suitable mechanism.

able screw e2, (locked by the set-screws 64,) the end of the screw e2 engaging-With the large end of the Wedge.

Springs H H are placed in compression in recesses e3 in the arm e' and between said arm and the carrier-disk, and they act to move said leverr E in the direction which relieves its pressure on the Wedge. It will be noticed that the Wedge in moving to expand the ring moves in a pathparaliel with the axis of the shaft, Wherefore the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the carrierwill have kno effect in moving the Wedge to expand the ring or permit it to contract;

Upon the inner surface of the carrier area plurality of centering-lugs r1.2, Withwhich the split ring or, rather, lugs c' projecting inward from the' ring engage, and the engagement of these lugs holds the ring in position when it is concentric with the shaft. .A lug lcl3 on the carrier enters between two lugs c3 on the ring, whereby the ringand carrier are ycompelled. to rotate together. Two arms (Z4 project inwardvfrom the carrier on opposite sides of the slot d', through which the operating-lever arm c' projects. The outer faces of these arms arek grooved and the expanding d5. The forming of these grooves produces which embraces? and is keyed to the shaft. s

ring nearits meeting ends lies in these grooves The other arm c, which passes through the slot d' in the carrier-disk, carries an adjust-` the shoulders il, which serve in a measure to hold the ring against the face of the carrier. Their principal function, however, is to receive the thrust due to the forcing of the wedge in between the meeting ends of the split ring for the purpose of expanding the ring. The earriei` and the shoulders take the entire thrust incident to this motion because the lever is pivoted to the carrier, and by its action it moves the wedge and in so doing forces the ring against the shoulders d6, which are likewise parts of the carrier,

That part of the split ring which engages with and is adjacent to the arms d4 is beveled outward on its inner face viz., the face which is next to the carrieras shown at dT. Because it is so beveled the parts may be assembled when the arms d, driving-lug d3,

and centering-ing d2 are formed integral withk the carrier. The part ofthe split ring which is beveled-that is to say, that part of its inner face which is adjacent to the split in said rng-is laid against the face of the carrier and that part of the ring is drawn under the shoulders d6, the opposite side of said ring being at this time held far enough from the carrier so as not to touch the driving-lug cl3. When the ring is well under the shoulders d,

'the opposite side of said ring is pushed back against the carrier and into engagement with the centering-lugs'and with the driving-lug. Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by 'Letters Patent, is

l. In a friction-clutch, the combination of a carrier having (1) centering-lugs, (2) a driving-lug, and (3) arms having the shoulders d6, with aI split ring which engages with the centering-lugs and lies between said shoulders and the carrier and has lugs which embrace the driving-lug, a Wedge lying between .the meeting ends of said ring, a lever pivoted to the carrier for actuating said wedge, and ak sliding sleeve for operating said lever, substantially as specified.

2. In a friction-clutch, the combination of a carrier having the following integral parts:

`to wit, centering-lugs, a driving-lug, and an 

